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DALLAS TWP. — As a widening hole threatened to bury Dallas deeper and deeper, the Mountaineers started feeling extremely anxious.
They just didn’t show it.
And then, the Mountaineers showed why they could be a prime contender for the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 girls basketball title.
Lauren Charlton finished with a double-double, Hanna Johnson swished 10 free throws in the fourth quarter Tuesday and unbeaten Dallas used defense and determination to rally past Crestwood 51-42 in an early-season WVC Division 1 showdown at Dallas High School.
“We’re always picking each other up,” said Charlton, who scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. “Great team. Love them.”
The Mountaineers were forced to pick themselves up pretty early.
They fell behind 16-8 in the first quarter when Julia Makowski hit seven of her 13 points for the Comets, and Sara Hopkins scored six more points in the second period to send Crestwood into halftime with a 26-21 lead.
“We were all really nervous,” Charlton said, “knowing it was a big game for us.”
“Crestwood’s touted as one of the teams to finish at the top of the conference,” Dallas coach Kelly Johnson said. “We knew that coming in. We knew it was going to be a battle to the end.”
Dallas didn’t panic, though.
Charlton scored eight points in the third quarter as Dallas closed within two points, then the Mountaineers dominated the final eight minutes to move to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the WVC — after taking down defending Division 1 champ Wyoming Valley West in overtime during the regular season opener.
Meanwhile, Crestwood dropped to 2-1 in Division 1 and to 5-2 overall.
“I have a team that’s very fundamentally sound,” Kelly Johnson said. “People may have underestimated us because of the points we lost (through graduation). But we knew what our potential was.”
The Mountaineers put it on display Tuesday, while avenging last year’s one-point loss at the buzzer to the Comets.
Charlton started the comeback, hitting a 3-pointer in the third quarter that pulled Dallas within a bucket. She later used a layup to even the score at 29-29 and buried another trey to tie the game 32-32 in the final minutes of the period.
“It was kind of just keeping my head in the game,” said Charlton, who pulled down 11 of her 15 rebounds in the second half, the final six in the fourth quarter. “A lot of times, if I’m off, I get down on myself. But if I go down and help with the defense, that really contributes. It kind of helps my confidence.”
Speaking of defense, Dallas turned it up a notch in the second half.
After Crestwood scored 16 points in the first quarter, the Comets were limited to just 18 over the next 20 minutes and were held to just four baskets after halftime.
“Halftime was basically a turning point,” Charlton said.
The Mounts made multiple adjustments that seemed to confuse Crestwood.
“We were hedging a little harder off the screens, changed some of our matchups defensively,” Kelly Johnson said. “Our help defense and hedging made a difference for us.”
So did some timely shooting.
Gianna Centrella gave Dallas its first lead since the opening minutes by turning her reverse layup into a three-point play late in the third period, then gave the Mounts the lead to keep, 35-34, when she opened the fourth quarter by drilling a trey.
Samantha Kern added a big rebound layup that gave Dallas a five-point lead midway through the final quarter, and Hanna Johnson sewed things up by nailing 10 of her 12 foul shots over the final eight minutes.
“We shoot a lot of fouls at practice,” Kelly Johnson said. “It’s game-situation foul shooting. I think the thing about our team is the chemistry. They’re so unselfish. They don’t care who does the scoring, they find each other, they find the open person.”
Hazleton Area 60, Wyo. Val. West 59 OT
Hazleton Area rallied from five points down entering the fourth quarter to force overtime and win in the extra period.
Faith Grula scored six of her 17 points in the fourth quarter. Maddie Mrochko scored a team-high 19. Marissa Trivelpiece scored 14, including going 4 for 4 from the foul line in overtime.
Grace Giza scored 19 for Valley West. Toni Amato and Nicole Boutanos scored 15 each. Andi Blaski added 10.
Wyoming Area 54, Meyers 52
Sarah Holweg scored 18 points and Wyoming Area held off a Meyers rally attempt for a victory.
Aleah Kranson tossed in 12 for the Warriors, who led 42-37 entering the fourth quarter.
Allycia Harris scored 21 and Ashley Bruno added 12 for Meyers.
Pittston Area 52, Coughlin 17
Alexa Noone scored 20 points and Leah Hodick added 18 as Pittston Area took control early in its win over Coughlin.
Ajalaya Butts led Coughlin with six.
Berwick 65, Wyo. Seminary 49
Reese Mensinger scored 25 points and Renny Murphy added 12 as Berwick defeated host Wyoming Seminary.
Alex Wesneski scored 18 and Ally Vezendy added 10 for Seminary.
Tunkhannock 60, GAR 38
Abby Ritz scored eight of her game-high 25 points in the first quarter as Tunkhannock got off to a strong start in its victory.
Sam Generotti added 14 for the Tigers. Kelly Barber had 13.
Alana Germano scored 11 for GAR, with Khira Cook adding nine.
Lake-Lehman 57, Northwest 27
Corrina Scoblick and Savannah Purdy each scored 18 points to pace Lake-Lehman. Madison Borum added 14.
Brenna Babcock scored 13 to pace Northwest.
Holy Redeemer 65, MMI Prep 15
Julia Andrejko scored 10 points and the Royals scored more points in the opening quarter than MMI did for the game.
Sam Yencha scored nine points and Sarah Kuderka, Lauren Wasiakowski and Sam Rajza all finished with eight for Redeemer. Irene Altmiller led the Preppers with eight points.
Dallas 51, Crestwood 42
CRESTWOOD (42) — Julia Makowski 5 2-2 13, Riley Magin 1 0-0 3, Sara Hopkins 5 5-8 17, Helena Jardine 3 1-2 7, Kristen Andrews 0 0-0 0, Andrea Shipton 1 0-0 2, Bella Termini 0 0-0 0, Sarah Richards 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 8-12 42.
DALLAS (51) — Olivia Johnson 3 0-0 8, Kendra Saba 0 3-4 3, Lauren Charlton 6 0-0 14, Gianna Centrella 5 2-4 13, Morgan MacNeely 0 1-2 1, Hanna Johnson 0 10-12 10, Samantha Kern 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 16-22 51.
Crestwood`16`10`8`8`—`42
Dallas`8`13`11`19`—`51
Three-point FGs — CRE 4 (Hopkins 2, Makowski, Magin); DAL 5 (O. Johnson 2, Charlton 2, Centrella).
Hazleton Area 60, Wyo. Valley West 59 OT
WVW (59) — Nicole Boutanos 7 1-2 15, Katlyn Rincavage 0 0-0 0, Karaline Stelma 0 0-0 0, Lindsey Gruver 0 0-0 0, Toni Amato 4 3-4 15, Grace Giza 7 5-5 19, Andi Blaski 4 2-2 10. Totals 22 11-13 59.
HAZLETON AREA (60) — Marissa Trivelpiece 2 10-14 14, Maddie Mrochko 7 0-1 19, Kyra Antolick 0 0-0 0, Olivia Wolk 0 0-0 0, Brooke Boretski 0 0-0 0, Abby Valente 1 0-0 3, Katie Lipinski 0 0-0 0, Virginia Yurchak 3 1-2 7, Faith Grula 7 2-6 17, Diamond Truluck 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 13-23 60.
Wyo. Val. West`17`4`18`15`5`—`59
Hazleton Area`10`15`9`20`6`—`60
Three-point FGs — WVW 4 (Amato 4); HA 7 (Mrochko 5, Valente, Grula).
Wyoming Area 54, Meyers 52
WYOMING AREA (54) — Ellie Glatz 2 2-3 6, Nicole Silinskie 0 1-2 1, Aleah Kranson 5 2-2 12, Sarah Holweg 7 3-5 18, Maria Amato 0 1-2 1, Cassidy Orzel 2 0-0 4, Jessica Davis 0 0-0 0, Addison Orzel 3 1-2 7, Kristi Skok 2 1-2 5. Totals 21 11-18 54.
MEYERS (52) —Bella Gray 1 0-0 3, Erin Morris 1 2-4 4, Amanda Gray 1 0-0 3, Ashley Bruno 4 2-2 12, Selena Soto 0 0-0 0, Allycia Harris 9 3-7 21, DaNayia Ballard 2 1-2 5, Sarah Bottger 2 1-2 5. Totals 19 10-20 52.
Wyoming Area`21`10`11`12`—`54
Meyers`12`17`8`15`—`52
Three-point FGs — WA 1 (Holweg); MEY 4 (B.Gray, A.Gray, Bruno 2).
Pittston Area 52, Coughlin 17
PITTSTON AREA (52) — Kayleigh Walker 1 0-0 2, Hannah Getz 1 0-0 2, Mary Silinske 1 0-0 2, Nicole Zombetti 0 0-0 0, Emily O’Brien 0 0-0 0, Jada Sharp 0 0-0 0, Portia Weidlich 2 1-4 5, Lily Savoy 0 0-0 0, Megan Mihalka 0 0-0 o, Leah Hodick 9 0-0 18, Alexa Noone 7 0-0 20, Emma Coles 0 0-0 0, Brooklyn Pendana 1 1-2 3, Andrea Ruby 0 0-0 0, Bernadette Lieback 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 2-6 52.
COUGHLIN (17) — Ajalya Butts 3 0-0 6, Le’June Berry 1 1-2 3, Molly Poray 0 0-2 0, Yansel Perez 0 0-0 0, Kira Meager 0 0-0 0, Arianna Brittingham 0 1-2 1, Sienna Burgette 0 0-0 0, Za’Nyah Kenzakowski 0 1-2 1, Abigail Kush 1 0-0 2, Abby Cicon 0 3-4 3, Milady Zapala 0 0-0 0, Courtney Wartella 0 1-2 1, Kara Rasimas 0 0-2 0, Sanauta Loutif 0 0-0 0. Totals 5 7-16 17.
Pittston Area`15`14`16`6`—`52
Coughlin`2`2`5`8`—`17
Three-point FGs — PA 6 (Noone 6).
Berwick 65, Wyoming Seminary 49
BERWICK (65) — Reese Mensinger 10 0-0 25, Renny Murphy 5 0-0 12, Emily Novicki 1 1-6 3, Sierra Miedaner 2 0-0 4, Katie Starr 1 4-5 6, Megan Dalo 2 0-3 4, Mallory Pinterich 2 2-2 7, Roni Isenberg 1 2-2 4. Totals 24 9-18 65.
WYO. SEMINARY (49) — Paige Parsons 1 1-1 3, Alex Wesneski 6 4-8 18, Julia Gabriel 3 0-02 6, Ally Vezendy 4 0-0 10, Mia Raineri 2 2-3 6, Olivia Meuser 0 0-0 0, Julia Iskra 0 2-2 2, Maaike Reitsma 0 0-0 0, Mia Magnotta 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 9-16 49.
Berwick`14`19`19`13`—`65
Wyo. Seminary`15`9`13`12`—`49
Three-point FGs — BER 8 (Mesinger 5, Murphy 2, Pinterich); WS 4 (Wesneski 2, Vezendy 2).
Tunkhannock 60, GAR 38
TUNKHANNNOCK (60) — Kelly Barber 6 1-2 13, Courtney Yuhas 0 1-2 1, Sadie Trochak 0 0-0 0, Jess Ell 3 0-0 7, Kassidy Shirtz 0 0-0 0, Sam Generotti 6 2-4 14, Abby Ritz 12 1-5 25. Totals 27 5-13 60.
GAR (38) — Alana Germano 3 3-4 11, Olivia Prato 2 1-2 5, Simone Harris 1 3-4 5, Lyann Pena 1 0-0 2, Jada Redditt 0 1-4 1, Hannah Cook 1 0-0 2, Emily Engle 1 1-2 3, Khira Cook 3 3-4 9. Totals 12 12-20 38.
Tunkhannock`20`13`13`14`—`60
GAR`4`15`11`8`—`38
Three-point FGs — TUN 1 (Ell); GAR 2 (Germano).
Lake-Lehman 57, Northwest 27
LAKE-LEHMAN (57) — Carlyn Blight 0 0-0 0, Sarah Salus 2 0-0 5, Corrina Scoblick 8 2-3 18, Jodie Salansky 1 0-0 2, Courtney Henninger 0 0-0 0, Savannah Purdy 7 4-7 18, Hunter Kline 0 0-0 0, Autumn Savitsky 0 0-0 0, Madison Borum 6 2-3 14. Totals 24 8-13 57.
NORTHWEST (27) — Reagan Harrison 1 0-0 3, Brenna Babcock 6 0-0 13, Trista Babcock 0 0-0 0, Jordan Harrison 2 1-4 5, Danielle Bowman 0 0-0 0, Kendra Saxton 0 0-0 0, Tess Edwards 3 0-0 6, Maddie McLendon 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 1-4 27.
Lake-Lehman`14`15`18`10`—`57
Northwest`11`9`1`6`—`27
Three-point FGs — NOR 2 (Harrison, B.Babcock); LL 1 (Salus).
Holy Redeemer 65, MMI Prep 15
HOLY REDEEMER (65) — Sarah Kuderka 4 0-1 8, Alesha Pekarovsky 1 0-0 2, Julia Andrejko 5 0-0 10, Sam Yencha 3 3-4 9, Anna Capaci 0 0-0 0, Lauren Wasiakowski 4 0-0 8, Sam Rajza 3 0-0 8, Alyssa Gushka 3 1-2 5, Lynzie Skoronski 3 0-0 7, Emily Cicon 2 0-0 4, Cameron Marcinkowski 3 0-2 6, Feher 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 4-9 65.
MMI PREP (15) — Irene Altmiller 3 0-0 8, Julie Amentler 0 0-2 0, Lindsey Braunstein 0 0-2 0, Lexi Zola 0 0-0 0, Jessica McClellan 1 0-0 2, Maddie Perchak 2 0-0 5, Bailey Slusser 0 0-0 0. Totals 6 0-4 15.
Holy Redeemer`22`12`17`14`—`65
MMI Prep`2`6`2`5`—`15
Three-point goals — VIS x (Rajza 2Name x, Name x); HOM x (Name x).
